This family friendly two-day, volunteer-run festival included competitive events, kids’ rodeo, skills clinics, demo bikes, an exposition area, food court, beer garden, live band and more for bike enthusiasts, family members, and friends. Early reports indicate a substantial increase in growth for activities, attendance, and funds raised compared to 2012’s successful event.

“We are happy to announce this event grows larger each year. We believe this is an indication that the love for mountain biking is spreading at a tremendous rate. We are extremely pleased to be able to provide a festival that fosters and supports a healthy activity for all.”—Mark Davidson, President of Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz

Those who attended enjoyed multiple activities and competitive events. Over 300 kids aged 12 and under tried their skills at the Kids’ Rodeo and enjoyed a Fun Lap on the Short Track. Those wishing to improve their skills flocked to clinics offered by pro riders such as Kat Sweet and Kirt and Lindsey Voreis. Bike aficionados checked out the latest from top bike industry vendors, demo’d bikes from a record number of top bike manufacturers, and shuttled to the renowned Soquel Demonstration State Forest (Demo). The first day’s festivities concluded with a Saturday after-party featuring Oakland funk/reggae/rock band WhoGas and both days featured raffles.

Sponsored Support
Sponsors from around the US and Canada generously contributed cash, merchandise, and services to this event. Donated product and services raised funds through a silent auction and raffles, and rewarded athletes and volunteers. With many of the sponsors headquartered locally, it is evident there’s a deep commitment to mountain biking in the Santa Cruz community.

Volunteer Operated
The Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival is presented by Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBoSC), a 100% volunteer non-profit mountain bike advocacy organization. MBoSC recruited over 150 volunteers to design, market, and run the festival. It is the passion and dedication of these people who organize, fund and run events, build and ride trails, and work in the industry that makes Santa Cruz a mecca for the sport.

Greening the Festival
In keeping with their pro-environment mission, MBoSC continually strives to reduce the environmental impact of events. This year, three solar vendors—Allterra Solar, Sandbar Solar and Moved By Bikes—and MBoSC provided 5 solar arrays supplying all power requirements for the festival. All sound equipment, computers, printers and water pumps were powered exclusively by solar. With on-site parking unavailable, riding bikes to the event was encouraged. People Power of Santa Cruz provided free valet bike parking and parked 650 bikes over the weekend. All food vendors contributed toward waste reduction by eliminating single use plastic plates and cutlery from their service, and supported the festival’s ban on the sale of bottled water. Attendees were encouraged to bring reusable water vessels to the festival to take advantage of the free filtered water provided by Zuvo Water from a custom built bar created especially for the event.

65% of the waste created at the festival was diverted from the landfill to recycling, an admirable first effort that provided MBoSC with baseline data that will help achieve a higher diversion rate in the future.

Mission Accomplished
The mission of the festival is to celebrate the world class mountain bike facilities, riders, and cycling industry of Santa Cruz County by bringing the community together to participate in recreational and competitive mountain bike events. Funds raised by the event will benefit projects and organizations that support mountain biking in Santa Cruz County.

The festival reflected what Santa Cruz in general is all about: loving the outdoors, meeting friendly people, kicking back and enjoying that big stoke from your favorite sport.

Competitive Events Results: First Place Winners Announced
215 professional, amateur, and junior athletes flocked to Santa Cruz to participate in various competitive events. Jumpers, pumpers, and short track racers all got their chance to shine at this year’s festival and win cash or sponsor gear. Full standings can be found on the results page of the festival website.

Kat Sweet’s SUGAR SHOWDOWN Jump Competition: For the first time, the ladies got to compete at the renowned Aptos Post Office Jumps on a new beginner/women’s line created by pro rider Lisa Tharp.
Pro: Lisa Tharp
Amateur: Nora Hairston
Novice: Lauren Gregg

Bell 831 PRO JUMP JAM:The Aptos Post Office Jumps have been the training grounds for a number of world-class dirt jumpers. This year the community bids farewell to these beloved jumps as the ground they stand on has long been slated for construction. Braden Barret-Hay, Jake Kinney, Tyler McCaul, Max Kavert, Raymond George, Jeff Herbertson and Ryan “R-Dog” Howard all threw down cash-winning tricks, and were joined by fellow pro talent Andrew Bigelow, Sam Dueck, Jack Fogelquist, Eric Johnson, Alex Kachlakev, Cary Kotowski, Kyle Quesnel, Max Rausch, Garrett Robertson, Simon Silver and Will Stewart for this last big tribute to these historic jumps.

About Mountain Bikers of Santa CruzAn affiliate club of International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA), Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBoSC) is an IRC 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization which is dedicated to the promotion of mountain biking in Santa Cruz County in a healthy and sustainable manner. Amongst many other notable projects, the club presents the Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival (SCMBF) and Santa Cruz Super Enduro (SCSE), and has also helped with the formation of Trips for Kids Santa Cruz and the California Enduro Series. MBoSC played an pivotal part in the creation of the Emma McCrary Trail, slated to open at the end of this month.